This is so fucking shit for young people

[ssd]

Yeah i know its shit for everyone before you pounce on me

But imagine being around 20 just now...no pubs, no nightclubs, no jobs around, no buzz in your town centre, no excuse to dress up in something new, or planning your latest night out, meeting your pals and all the excitement of the night ahead.

Its just so fucking shite.

I got the train home tonight from work, Glasgow city centre is a ghost town. Places that were always busy boarded up, of course everything except like of newsagents and tesco's shut. Its Friday night. It was always jumping when i was young, absolutely jumping. It was dead. On the train was a bunch if young boys, playing music a bit too loud, all singing along....going home from the city centre at 6pm!!!!. I could have cried watching them all, a nice sunny evening and the only place they are heading was back to mum and dads, or a local park maybe, i dont know. They were about 18, casual dressed, haircuts, all wanting a good time with their pals and probably hoping to meet a partner if they were single.

Where is the life for these kids???

This has gone on long enough. I dont care if i never see inside a pub again. I've had a brilliant social life at that age. Now they have fuck all.

Its too much.

TheClaws

The government response to the pandemic is having the (presumably) unintended consequence of making ageism worse.

@Rejoiningperson

I think we aren’t giving young people enough credit or support for their resilience, their almost overwhelming ability to get on with many aspects of the pandemic such as wearing masks. We could learn a lot from them. I’m very proud of our young!

It really is very mixed, the experiences in the last year. Some of the more positive aspects seem to be squashed which is a shame. That doesn’t mean that negative parts are ignored, but they seem to have been blown up in the media hugely as if every young person has suffered a huge trauma.

As usual, most of the trauma is experienced by the worst off in our society, which are the poor, the vulnerable. They suffered far more than any other group, in illness, job loss, economics. Those in domestic violence situations.

The children in my extended family have had an overall OK time. The teenagers told me that it was nice to have the pressure off for a change. To just hang out with one or two mates and chat in the garden, or online, instead of the pressure to be seen and not miss out on larger groups - where inevitably there is more competition and jostling. My own older teen said that it was the first time she’d relaxed about her appearance, her grades and her anxiety disappeared for a while. She had to do Uni online - but finds it fine as she said she’s got two more years to have the whole Uni experience.

So yes, it’s been problematic for many, not denying that, including me (try having a severely disabled child at home/explaining change!). But the blanket generalizations that it is devastating for all young - this isn’t a true picture and ignores the resilience that many young have shown and I’m so proud of.

Ah yes the young people who wore masks....

Let me see in waitrose the other day, group of 6 girls, teenagers, not exactly sure of there ages but must be around 16yrs. Taking up the whole aisle, wouldn't even move out of the way, no masks on and one of them actually bumped right in ne leaning over me to get something. So much for manners.

Where was the social distancing from other people...naff all. They might have a lower risk but doesn't mean other people do.

This isn't a one off I've seen it in other supermarkets or shops.

So no I won't be singing their praises about how well they have done to cope when they cannot follow simple rules for less than 15mins.

That's not exclusive.to young people cycling.

I do think young people have had it hard but tbh not many.people have.sailed through this last year without any ill effects

My 23yo has been on furlough and pretty much lived on computer games. My 20yr old is the lively one and has still been meeting friends, mainly in car parks or woodland - she had Covid at Xmas so mildly that she thinks it’s a fuss about nothing now. She is desperate to go travelling and knows it’ll be ages before the world opens up again.

I’m not sure what you want out of this thread. We have all suffered to a certain extent, some more than others but that’s life in the middle of a pandemic, the whole globe is suffering, this is a global issue.
Brighter and happier days will come for everyone especially now we are doing pretty well with vaccinating the nation.

@cyclingmad sorry can you name me a positive from the last year?

It's been utterly shit. I loved my life before covid namely friends, holidays, museums, theatre, shopping, cinemas, restaurants, pubs,

I have two teens who have had an equally shit year all their clubs and activities off for most of the year. Can't have friends round, can't go into town. One is in year 11 and the non exam situation has given her so much anxiety and stress.

I am hoping this will be the end of it and we can't start to get back to normal. Once everyone is vaccinated I feel it's time to end all the restrictions for good. We can't keep living like this. I've worn a mask, I've socially distanced, I've kept to all the rules but I'm done

@cyclingmad sorry I realise that wasn't you. Just a quote It was @Rejoiningperson

Exactly my point its been shit for everyone. Its not more shit for any one particular group because this isn't a competition

In answer to the anecdotal point in masks and the young my experience of supermarket shopping is that it is the older generation who break the rules shoping in pairs and not always wearing masks - every supermarket shop I have seen this

Total agree @ssd it’s the young adults that have suffered the most. I have felt for them all throughout this.

My young adults have stuck to the rules to protect parents & grandparents without a word of complaint. We have all had the golden part of our lives/ theirs currently is on hold whilst the clock still ticks on.

I feel really angry and sad for all the kids missing proms, leavers assembles, graduations, uni life, clubs , pubs and just meeting each other in the real world. I really hope they get a taste of real life back this summer , my god they deserve it.

If you seriously judge young people needing these things then it’s clear your misguided.

People should be taking this opportunity to find sport or music as enjoyable things rather than a piss up.

I feel awful for all the youngsters, from the ones who should be at scouts and cadets all the way up to the ones who should be drinking and dancing, living for their social lives and the thrill of making connections. And all the ones on between. My 14 yo should be meeting her friends in town, gossiping about people they fancy and having lunch and doing a lot of window shopping. Hopefully, she'll still have time to do that with her secondary school friends before they all finish their GCSEs and scatter to various other institutions.

Recently, we've had some "disruptive behaviour" around here, as the residents association have called it. We have large areas of green space and we've had nights where groups of 18-23 year olds have met up there, played music, had drinks and been fairly loud. Some of them have left their rubbish too. I get the annoyance with the rubbish, but honestly- where can they go? What joy do they have in their lives? I keep thinking about the ones who will never have a chance to be in a packed bar, dancing with strangers. So many missed moments. So many paths that will never be taken. And they're all rites of passage. It makes me feel so sad, I know I'd have been heartbroken to have that denied to me when I was that age.

I've watched my FIL into his thirtieth year of retirement with his none means tested benefits and triple lock pension turn 80 during this pandemic. He's been very vulnerable to Covid.
And my DS with his decimated education and social life and prospect of paying £9k a year for an online uni experience, turn 18. The risk of Covid to him is absolutely minimal.
I know whose had it harder. And will do going forward.
It's been shit for everyone. But I'd choose to be 80 than 18 during a global pandemic.

I've not rtft but I agree OP. I had the best time at that age, carefree, uni was great (and a lot cheaper than now).... Ive always thought this last year that it would be so shit to be 20s and stuck in this situation as it's the exact antithesis of how life should be. If I were that age now I'd feel really robbed of the time I should be having.
I've got young children so whilst they have missed out on what realistically has only been a small amount of their school career, it's not been so bad as they've had each other to play with and are reasonably happy as long as they go to a playground and have a stick to carry on a walk! And as my kids are young I'm at that age where you kinda don't have much of a social life anyway after 6pm!
But early 20s... Truly shit.

I've watched my FIL into his thirtieth year of retirement with his none means tested benefits and triple lock pension turn 80 during this pandemic

Do people understand that those 'elderly' you resent so much are the ones who gave birth and made sacrifices so that you are here today? Don't you think that the 'little ones' you are so worried about today will throw you under the bus in the future if they have the same attitude you have today against older people?

@mibbelucieachwell

TheClaws

The government response to the pandemic is having the (presumably) unintended consequence of making ageism worse.

The ageism I'm reading just on this thread (and I've read plenty of other ageism and disabilism over the past year or so) can't be blamed solely on the Government's response.

@mustlovegin people who have been retired 30 years have not made sacrifices! How many of our youngsters will be able to retire at 50?? I feel so sad for the younger generation who have had the best years of their lives disrupted and quite frankly have little to look forward to other than a huge financial tax burden.

The biggest problem with covid is the blame culture it has created, the you only get it if you break the rules rhetoric and that has unfairly been put on young people especially uni students.
It's a virus yet they were put together into huge halls then blamed for outbreaks etc.

I do feel sorry for them it's very tough and many are now suffering mental health issues.

I think the big difference is as a teenager/young adult a year is a lifetime difference, younger children not so much and as a 30 something to me a year now rumbles into the next.

The job situation is going to be horrific I'm just thankful that the govt put furlough in and extended it. I know there are many gaps and people who have lost their jobs. But it would be way way way worse without it.

It's going to be tough for several years to come I graduated just after the financial crash it was a nightmare finding a job. But it did push people to consider other options. Several of us worked low paid jobs whilst volunteering on the side which gave us fantastic experience which lead to jobs after a few years.

@OpheliasCrayon I agree so much. I commented earlier on the thread. Even in normal times my lovely octagenarian grandparents say that they've had their life. I'm similar to you in that I'm settled down with two kids so as hard as I find everything, we are comfortable with a spacious house, and nice neighbours.
I graduated into 2008 and found it hard to get professional opportunities, it has definitely held me back and this is so much worse. For this age group its almost like a weird experiment :(

There seem to be a lot of angry, bitter people on here. It’s fairly evident this is not just about the young losing a year of the lives (in some case a very formative year eg last year of high school, first year of uni, turning 18 etc). It’s about being plunged into a very uncertain future where job prospects look absolutely dire. It’s about having their hopes and dreams shattered and not even being able to console themselves by spending time with friends. No wonder mental health issues for the young are through the roof.
You’d need to have a heart of stone not to have some empathy and compassion for the young right now.

@OneTimeAdvocate

If you seriously judge young people needing these things then it’s clear your misguided.

People should be taking this opportunity to find sport or music as enjoyable things rather than a piss up.

Most grassroots sport has been banned on and off for the past year. Teenagers out playing football near me were soon grassed up by curtain twitchers.

I’m 21 and in third year of my uni degree, I’m meant to be on a year abroad in Paris right now, instead I’m back at my parents house, the independence I got from my first year and a half at uni gone. I see my best friend maybe once a week or so now restrictions have eased. I’m going to see my boyfriend today, I’ve only seen him once otherwise since Christmas. It all feels like such a waste of time and every week or two I just break down crying thinking about how shit my life is now. But then I remember how good I’ve had it really, I have a job and am saving like mad which means I will now probably be able to do a masters degree straight after my undergrad. I’m lucky that I don’t know anyone whose died of covid even though my nan and a close friend caught it. My parents bought a puppy before Christmas so I’ve got to spend time with him. Every cloud has a silver lining and the majority of the time I do manage to stay positive. I’ve already spent hundreds on tickets for festivals and events for the summer with the hope that they will go ahead

@OneTimeAdvocate

If you seriously judge young people needing these things then it’s clear your misguided.

People should be taking this opportunity to find sport or music as enjoyable things rather than a piss up.

🙄 bore off

so glad to hear the positives @leftistbimbo, enjoy your summer

*All these young people, all they have had is an early welcome to how utter shit life can be sometimes. That sometimes life doesn't go the way its meant and all you can do is adapt and make the most of whatever the situation is.

Welcome to the Real world where things don't go the way we expect them to do."*

I completely agree with you*

So do l.

Life is unfair, tough, contrary and can be downright miserable at times. We are designed to cope with bad times and recover.

I have a 15 year old. She’s having a shit time, but she’ll be OK. It’s not ideal. But all this missing proms, clubs, shopping. They’ll come back. But they aren’t a given. 20 years ago, proms didn’t exist, shopping has only been a leisure activity as such since the 80’s.

Maybe something better will take its place? Years of austerity and misery aren’t a given. Look at the 1920’s and late 50’s/ early 60’s. Still paying war debts off but people had fun and there were jobs.

Britain’s war debt to the US wasn’t paid off until 2006. But it didn’t cause long term unemployment.

Life will recover.